Other

3. LCA: Calculation rules
Information on the declared unit
Name
Value
Unit
Declared unit
1
m
2
Conversion factor to 1 kg
0.099

Mass reference
10.10
kg/m²
3.2 System boundary
Type of the EPD: cradle to gate  with options.
Modules A1 – A3 of the production stage cover the
manufacturing of the products, including raw material
extraction and processing, energy generation, the
production of ancillary products and packaging
materials, transport, as well as all waste treatment
processes. Eventual benefits of recycling or energy
recovery are neglected.
The resource aspects of wood were inventoried via
material inherent properties as resource extraction of
CO
2
from the atmosphere and the lower heating value
as the use of renewable energy. Material inherent
properties are subject to coproduct allocation as ruled
in /EN 15804/.
For the input of postconsumer wood, the carbon
stored in wood is inventoried as material inherent
property as negative input of stored carbon, expressed
in CO
2
equivalent, whereas the energy content of
wood is inventoried as input of renewable secondary
material/fuel (as applicable).
The use of secondary wood as a material or fuel input
to the product system is inventoried from the endof
waste state of the recycled wood onward.
Module A5 covers the transport of the packaging
material from the construction site and its disposal.
Default endofwaste states for the packaging
materials from the packed products at the construction
site are defined in analogy for wastes occurring in
modules A1A3. Eventual further inputs for the
installation of the products are not considered due to
the broad applicability of the assessed products.
The substituted primary material from the net amount
of recycled material and from recovered energy
exported from the product system in Module A5 are
declared in Module D.
Module C3 covers the preparation of the post
consumer board to become a secondary fuel: the end
ofwaste status for recycled woodbased boards is
defined as the point where they have been sorted and
chipped, ready to be used as secondary fuels.
In line with /EN 16485/, the export of the biogenic
carbon stored in the board, expressed in CO
2

equivalent is also reported in module C3.
Module D compiles all the benefits and burdens
associated with the secondary fuels, secondary
materials and exported energy leaving the production
system in the modules A5 and C3.
Therefore, module D covers the avoided burdens from
recycling and from energy recovered from the waste
treatment in module A5 as well as the transport of the
obsolete boards to a biomass combustion plant, the
combustion process itself and the loads and benefits of
the substitution of fossil fuels and/or electricity.
Substitution effects in module D are always calculated
for the net amount of secondary material or secondary
fuel of the product system in line with /EN 16485/.
3.3 Estimates and assumptions
For the quantification of the net flows of recycled wood
(input of postconsumer wood used as a fuel minus
postconsumer wood exiting the product system into
module D for energy recovery), it was assumed that all
inputs of postconsumer wood are used as a fuel;
inputs of postconsumer wood beyond the need of
wood fuel used in production was considered to be
used as a recycled material input. Beyond that, no
relevant estimates or assumptions had to be made
beyond the information provided in this EPD.
3.4 Cut-off criteria
The applicable criteria for the exclusion of inputs and
outputs are defined in /EN 15804/, clause 6.3.5, and in
the /IBU PCR part A/ (IBU 2013), respectively.
All data were taken into account that resulted from the
data collection procedure in the plants, e.g. related to
fuels, raw material input, use of ancillary materials,
waste flows, emissions into air, water use, waste
water, transport means and transport distances, etc..
Expenses for the general management, research &
development, administration and marketing – if known
– were not taken into account.
The production of eventual packaging of ancillary
material or other inputs used during production (and
some of the reported wastes) were generally
neglected; in most cases reusable bins or containers
are used. In addition, the amounts of reported
(unspecific) wastes are that small that their production
can be considered not relevant for the life cycle
assessment. Additional plant specific information can
be found in the respective chapters for each plant.
Beyond that some plants reported ancillary materials
that were cut off due to very small amounts and as
inputs not directly related to production processes but
to the maintenance of infrastructure, e.g. acetylene
and oxygen for soldering, etc.
With this approach also mass and energy flows below
1 percent of total mass and energy flows caused by
the declared products were included in the
assessment.
Beyond that, no material or energy flows were
neglected that would have been known by the persons
responsible for the project and that could have been
expected to contribute significantly to the
environmental indicators declared. It can thus be
assumed that the total contribution of the neglected
processes is not higher than 5 % of the declared
impact categories.
6
Environmental Product Declaration – Particleboard, coated
3.1 Declared Unit
The declared unit for the LCA is 1 m
2
of average
particleboard.
The weighted average was calculated based on
production volumes from representative plants in all
countries.